Chris Lewis Blog

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord . “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. – Jeremiah 29:11

I’m reading through Jeremiah in my personal study time and God is stirring some thoughts in me. I read this verse in context this morning and I was struck by this thought.

God spoke these words through Jeremiah to a people who were already in Babylonian exile because of their repeated disobedience.

Every time I hear this verse used, it is one of those “feel good” verses. What’s interesting is that God gives Jeremiah this message to counter the feel good message that some false prophets are giving the people. They are promising a short exile…but God says ‘No, you are in exile because you disobeyed. Go ahead and build houses and plan to stay a long time. I told you this was coming, BUT don’t give up hope. You’ll be here 70 years. You won’t even be alive when I fulfill this promise, but I will fulfill it in your children – not because you are good, but because I am good’ (my words).

There are consequences for our actions. Some are major and others are less overt. But there are always consequences. Remember that the Lord is using you and me for the exclusive purpose of bringing Him glory. He always has a plan for a future and a hope, to bring good not disaster…but first there may be a season of preparing, or perhaps even discipline.

But we can be thankful that his faithfulness is based on God’s character and not our own.

“So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.” – Jeremiah 18:3-4 (ESV)

I am so often tempted to resist.

My default nature is to reject, often violently, character development and changes to my basic nature.

It’s natural I suppose. As natural as sin at least.

Jeremiah has what most today would consider a miserable ministry. His was a ministry defined by harsh condemnation of Israel’s actions followed by a swift and thorough rejection of whatever it was he was selling that day. He was beaten and jailed for his actions. Yet, he cried to the Lord and said that he couldn’t keep silent. The message was like a fire shut up inside his bones!

This message in Jeremiah 18 is the most powerful section of Jeremiah’s ministry. Here, Jeremiah is telling Israel what God is trying to do.

Why are they so tempted to resist?

Why do they default to rejecting, often violently, the changes God is trying to orchestrate in them?

It comes natural for them. As natural as sin anyway.

Maybe we’re not all that different. Maybe God is trying to work something beautiful in me and in you and we keep spoiling ourselves in the potter’s hand.

God is always all-good all the time. He is reworking us ‘as it seemed good to the potter to do‘.

Why are you fighting that?

I wrote a post a while back about running in a triathlon on August 1. You can read about that here. My training continues and I am getting better in each of the competition areas. I will be doing a 500m swim, 15mi bike ride, and 5k run.

While my training has been getting more intense, so has my appetite! I may be the only person who can actually gain weight while working out as much as I am.

I am ready to compete in the event today, BUT I would do so with some unneeded baggage weighing me down. On May 13, I stepped on a set of scales and I had reached 245 lbs! YIKES!

I had this very startling revelation that day. Why am I carrying extra weight that only makes my task more difficult and will hurt my performance? So I decided to do something about it! I have adjusted my caloric intake and along with training as of yesterday (June 9) I am down to 220 lbs. My goal is to hit 200 by race day.

This reminds me of an even more important spiritual principle. The writer of Hebrews said it best: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (ESV). Anther translation says the sin “that so easily entangles“.

We all face challenges in life. Some are excruciatingly difficult and we can’t do anything about them!

Others are merely distractions. They are things that don’t have to be there – but are. They are things we can control. These things are distractions. They are the “weight” this passage is talking about.

You can drop the weight.

Eliminate the distractions that take your eyes of following Jesus.

There is another more deadly enemy for the believer though. This passage also talk about sin that clings so closely and so easily entangles.

This can be deadly. These are not mere distractions. They are the things that have no business in the life of a believer. These can kill your spiritual life.

To extend the metaphor, it would be like me swimming with my hands and feet bound, or biking while carrying a baby grand piano, or running with a can of nitro glycerin! All of these are deadly!

So is sin.

It robs you of your joy. Kills your spiritual senses making you dead to hearing from the Holy Spirit. And it will destroy your testimony and effectiveness for the gospel.

Jesus said ‘the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy but I came that you might have life more abundantly‘ (paraphrase).

So drop the weight. It’s killing you.

Besides, what Jesus offers is so much better!

“He said, Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. Then Elisha prayed and said, O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see. So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” – 2 Kings 6:16-17 (ESV)

If we only knew the power that is really behind us, there is no limit to the things we would attempt to do for God!

So often, we are like the young man with Elisha that can only see with our natural eyes and refuse to exercise our spiritual eyesight to see beyond the physical limitations that cause us to quiver and keep us from conquering.

This man couldn’t understand how a prophet and his band of supporters could withstand the thrashing that the King of Syria was about to unleash on them. If they were an army with weapons…maybe – but this was just a preacher with some loyal followers! All they had were some scrolls and maybe a donkey or two. But when the Lord opened his eyes, he could see that God had dispatched a massive and powerful force to protect Elisha and his mission!

When God is behind a work, there is no force, on earth or otherwise, that will keep it from accomplishing what God has purposed!

That’s good news for the Church today!

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” – Eph 3:20-21 (ESV)

That’s good news for you too! What is it God is asking you to do for him? Look around you. You have an ARMY to go into battle with you.